Ford Hybrids Have Coolant Pump Defect, Class Action Lawsuit Says

Ford Hybrids Have Coolant Pump Defect, Class Action Lawsuit Says

By Anne Bucher

A putative class action lawsuit alleging that Ford Motor Co.’s hybrid sedans can shut down without warning was filed in a California federal court on June 28.

The Ford hybrid class action lawsuit alleges that, due to a weakness in the engine-cooling systems, two of Ford’s pioneering hybrid sedans can shut down without warning while traveling at highway speeds. The class action lawsuit indicates defects allegedly present in the 2005 through 2008 models of the Ford Escape Hybrid and the 2006 through 2008 models of the Mercury Mariner. These models were the first hybrid crossovers to be released by a U.S. car manufacturer.

According to the class action lawsuit, Ford incorporated the Motor Electric Cooling System (MECS) to diffuse the heat generated by the hybrid vehicles’ battery-powered motor component. The MECS releases hot air into the atmosphere. To prevent the vehicles from sustaining damage from the heat, the vehicles are designed to shut down whenever the MECS becomes inoperative.

The Ford hybrid class action lawsuit alleges that the MECS coolant pumps are “substantially certain” to fail suddenly and without warning, causing the vehicle to shut down immediately. Because the engine shutdown can occur while the vehicle is traveling at highway speeds, drivers may find themselves in an extremely dangerous situation.

“The coolant pump causes unsafe conditions in the class vehicles, including but not limited to abrupt losses of acceleration, inability to maneuver the vehicle due to reduced speed, slowed steering, and in certain cases, complete vehicle failure,” the class action lawsuit says. This sudden engine failure can leave a driver stranded in the middle of a busy highway if a shoulder cannot be reached before the vehicle comes to a complete stop.

Lead plaintiff Jean MacDonald claims that she purchased a new 2007 Ford Escape hybrid from a California dealership. By December 2012, she had put more than 43,000 miles on the vehicle without incident until the car’s “Stop Safely Now” light turned on and the vehicle was rendered powerless in the middle of a freeway.

According to the class action lawsuit, thousands of purchasers and lessees of these vehicles have experienced problems similar to those experienced by MacDonald.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Ford had known of the defects since 2005 based on pre-release testing data, consumer complaints, warranty reimbursement rates and data from Ford dealerships.

In 2008, Ford allegedly submitted at least two bulletins to its dealerships about the performance issues associated with the inoperative coolant pumps. These bulletins provided information about how to replace the defective coolant pump with a non-defective model. Allegedly, Ford held its customers responsible for the cost of replacing the system rather than repairing it under the warranty. According to the class action lawsuit: “Instead of repairing the defect in the MECS coolant system, Ford either refused to acknowledge their existence, or performed ineffectual repairs that simply masked the effect.”

The Ford Hybrid Coolant Pump Defect Class Action Lawsuit is MacDonald v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 3:13-cv-02988, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

MacDonald is represented by Jordan L. Lurie, David L. Cheng, Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.

Updated July 12th, 2013

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